The Love They Share
by PrincessofPunk8
Summary: A series of drabbles and ficlets about Sting/Dixie Carter. Chapter 4: Birthday-Sting gets a rather pleasant birthday surprise.
1. Protection

**So this is my first official foray into het writing. This is going to be a series of drabbles and ficlets. Some may be AU, some may be canon, and some may be canon with a hint of AU. But they're all going to be Sting/Dixie Carter. To me, these two have potential to be so much more than what they are. So enjoy. This will be updated whenever inspiration hits me.**

* * *

Logically, Dixie Carter knew many things. She knew that the people her wrestlers portrayed in the ring were not the people they really were. She knew that most of them followed the scripts, and that the ones who didn't follow them didn't deviate a large amount. She knew that she wasn't in any real danger when she stepped in that ring; everyone knew she was a businesswoman and not a wrestler.

However, when she did step in that ring, all logic left her. When she was called into the ring by Steve so Bobby could apologise, that fateful night when he spit in her face, she couldn't help her apprehension about being so close to Bobby. While backstage he really was a nice guy, he had the tendency to get a little too into his character in the ring. Ergo, him spitting in her face wasn't exactly planned.

One of the rules in the business was to not let your personal life bleed into your onscreen character. When that happened disastrous things usually happened. One of the most well-known was the Matt Hardy/Lita/Edge debacle that had happened over in the WWE back in 2005, but that certainly wasn't the sole incident. But when Dixie stepped in the ring she couldn't help her natural instinct to stick as close to her boyfriend as she possibly could. She was gratified to see that he couldn't help his own natural instincts to protect her, or to listen to her. When he had gone for Bobby when the younger man had started insulting her, she hadn't had to exert much pressure at all to hold him back. That was just Steve, respecting her decisions and choices.

Of course, when Bobby dragged her into the ring at Victory Road, that was scripted. When he picked up the chair to hit Sting with it, that was not. At that point, Dixie had acted on instinct. Praying desperately that Bobby had enough decency left in him to not attack a woman with a steel chair; she had stepped in front of her boyfriend, hoping to save him from even more pain. She knew that she was in for a lecture on getting anywhere near Roode without backup but she didn't care. Her boyfriend was so much more important in that moment.

Sure enough though, once they got backstage, Steve started in on her. Dixie didn't mind though, she knew it was just her baby being his protective self. She made him get checked out before they left though, sometimes being his boss and his girlfriend worked in her favour, before she drove back to their hotel. Of course the man complained the whole way, he had serious problems about not being in control in Dixie's opinion, but she really didn't care. He was the injured one; he was going to be fussed over.

He showered quickly once back in their hotel room before he crawled into bed, tugging Dixie down next to him despite her attempts at protesting, claiming that he always slept better with her next to him. She gave in with a soft sigh, resting her head gently on his chest and laughing softly as he fanned her hair out across his chest, tangling his hand in it. For someone that complained at the amount of time it took for her to get ready to go-often less than the time it took him if he was doing full face paint-he certainly had an obsession with her hair.

Steve began to run his fingers through her hair, despite her protests that he knew it always made her sleepy. Despite her best efforts to stay awake, Dixie fell asleep first to the sounds of her boyfriend promising that he was going to deal with things on Impact on Thursday. Secure in the knowledge that she had done her best to protect him as well as he protected her that night, she finally allowed herself to drift off. Their relationship was a two way street, and so was the love and protection they shared.


	2. Happiness

**Based on kayfabe. Inspired by the pictures of Dixie and AJ shown on the May 10****th**** episode of Impact.**

* * *

"Baby he was just being nice," Dixie assured her boyfriend from where she sat in front of her laptop. Because of the time that she had to spend away from her boyfriend, and because she insisted that he stay at home and rest in Dallas she had set up Skype on his computer and taught him how to use it. That was the most interesting 3 hours she had spent with him.

"Dix, he was looking like he was in love with you," Steve argued. Dixie laughed sweetly.

"AJ is gay Steve, remember?" she teased. "He's not interested in me." Her boyfriend rolled his eyes and sighed, obviously not believing her.

"Whatever you say Princess," he growled. Dixie gave a soft sigh and lowered her head, letting her loose hair fall in front of her face.

"Steve, he isn't interested," she reiterated. "He was just being nice."

"Dix?" Steve asked softly, recognising her actions from when she was shutting down. She shook her head and smiled softly at him from behind her hair.

"AJ has Kaz, however volatile that might be these days," she explained gently. "I was just having a bad day, and AJ was there." Steve frowned.

"Bad day beautiful?" he asked with the warm smile that always made Dixie melt.

"Yeah," she sighed. "Long day with the board, then I had to deal with the knockouts." Steve sighed.

"What happened?" he asked rolling his eyes in exasperation. He was well versed in the problems that some of the knockouts liked to cause.

"Madison decided that she wanted to get her ass kicked by Tara," Dixie explained, a small smile making its way onto her lips. Steve snorted in amusement, his own lips twitching.

"That woman has a death wish," he laughed, his amusement fading once Dixie nodded and lowered her eyes again.

"She said things to you again huh?" he asked gently. Madison liked to say horrible things about people, even when she wasn't on camera and Dixie was one of her favourite targets. She always knew just where to stop so that she wouldn't get in trouble but Steve knew just how bad she could make Dixie feel.

"Yeah," the brunette woman whispered before she raised her head slightly and gave him a small smile. "I ran into AJ on my way to my office and he comforted me." Steve smiled wryly and nodded.

"He was being a good friend," he surmised. Dixie nodded.

"Exactly!" she announced. "He's not interested. And I'm only interested in one man." Steve smiled his warm smile at her again and she smiled shyly back at him.

* * *

"AJ!" The Georgia native turned around and almost flinched when he saw Sting stalking down the hallway towards him. The older man smirked as he saw the effect he had on AJ just by speaking his name. Reaching AJ he eyed the slightly shorter man before he reached out and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Thank you for taking care of my girl," he said sincerely, a slight smile forming on his lips. "Especially since I know what Madison's words do to her." AJ froze for a moment before he offered a tentative smile to the elder man.

"Did she tell you what Madison actually said to her?" he asked nervously. The taller man raised an eyebrow and shook his head slightly.

"Basically along the same lines as the usual stuff," AJ explained. "Added in a few lines about her weight, and her ability as a business owner. Oh, and she said something about how Dix didn't deserve to be with you." Steve crossed his arms.

"Seriously?" he asked in exasperation. "You know anything specific on the weight comments?" AJ shrugged.

"Basically that she needed to lose it," he said with a snort. "Just cause she doesn't look like a stick doesn't mean that she's overweight." Steve grinned at the younger man and slapped him on the back.

"Thanks AJ," he called over his shoulder as he walked away.

* * *

"Steve! What are you doing here?" Dixie asked in shock as her boyfriend walked around the corner. The man grinned at her and captured her wrist, tugging her into his arms before he stole a quick kiss.

"Can't a guy come see his beautiful girlfriend?" he asked innocently. Dixie flushed, but managed to turn her best glare on him anyway. Laughing, Steve slung an arm around her shoulders and directed her away from the main hallways, leading her down to a lesser used corridor. Dixie leant against the wall and Steve placed his hand on the wall on either side of her head.

"I just wanted to see you," he teased. "But I ran into AJ on my way to find you." Dixie sighed and lowered her eyes.

"He told you huh?" she asked softly. Steve nodded and moved his hand from the wall to gently stroke her hair off of her face.

"Yeah," he admitted. "And Dix, I don't care what that woman says. You're gorgeous." Dixie flushed and slapped his chest lightly, but Steve caught the slight shake of her head before she caught herself. He leant down to kiss her forehead lightly.

"I love you," he said softly. "And I don't care that you don't look like Madison or Angelina. You're perfect." Despite herself Dixie couldn't catch the smile that spread across her face.

"See?" Steve teased again. "There's that beautiful smile that I adore." Steve caught the soft smile that lit up his girlfriend's face before she slapped his chest again and wrapped her arms around him lightly. He hugged her back before he stole another kiss and lead her back to the main corridors. After all, that was his real job. To keep his girl happy and confident. And when she smiled at him, he knew that he had succeeded.


	3. The Truth

**Dixie is married to Serg in the beginning of this one. Pretty much a Serg basher in this chapter.**

* * *

Dixie was sick of it. Sick of the lies, sick of the affairs. Yes, she knew full well about the other women in her husband's bed. When she was busy, either away at the office in Orlando, or dealing with issues at home while he took care of his own business, Serg was more than happy to find a replacement bed warmer. Knockouts, ring rats, it didn't matter to him. As long as they were relatively attractive and female, he'd take them back to his hotel room. Or, on his most daring occasions, back to their home. The brunette could always tell when one of his 'friends' had been over, because the sheets were clean. Serg never did laundry otherwise.

Of course, when they'd started going out he had a reputation for being a heartbreaker, but she'd fallen in love with him. And that was the only reason that she'd stayed throughout the years, because she loved him and because he always told her he loved her. Her friends thought she was insane for sticking with him throughout everything, but no matter what he was always sweet and loving with her, bringing her flowers for no reason. Not to mention she'd had no solid proof anyway of an affair.

Her proof had come when a security tape had been slipped under her office door at the Impact Zone. She'd been wary, but had been horrified to discover it was essentially a sex tape of her husband fucking one of the knockouts in a storage cupboard. The screeching had tipped it off to be Madison Rayne, and despite herself Dixie hadn't been able to force herself to get rid of it.

* * *

The final straw for her had been when Serg stalked out to the ring and sucker punched AJ Styles. She hadn't ever cheated on him, and just because of a few photos and a video, not to mention an edited phone call, he suddenly believed that she was the cheater. She'd never taken any action against him or his little girlfriends, and suddenly she was in the wrong?

Standing in the corner of that ring Dixie had realised two things. First of all, that she had to get away from Serg. He wasn't good for her, and that never made for a good relationship. Secondly, that her feelings for one of her best friends Sting weren't exactly platonic. She'd always been attracted to him, but she'd forced it down in favour of being faithful to her husband. Even just as a friend, he'd been better to her than Serg ever had. Case in point, just the fact that Sting listened to her meant the world to her. Months ago, her friend had kept himself from attacking Bobby Roode just because she grabbed his arm, no matter how pissed at him Sting was, and no matter that Roode was a viable threat to her safety. That night, Serg had punched AJ regardless of the fact that AJ had been quite literally saving her ass for months, and was no threat to her, and she'd grabbed his arm much harder than she'd grabbed a hold of Stings.

* * *

Her chance came a week later. She'd opted to stay in Dallas for a couple of extra days before heading to the live tapings, whereas Serg had decided to go on to Orlando and get some work done. He was supposed to be leaving Orlando the day before she got there, so on Tuesday afternoon she'd placed her wedding ring on the kitchen table on top of the divorce papers she'd had drawn up, packed her stuff and walked out of the door. Deciding where to go had been easy enough, and she'd soon ended up where she was now, across the city in front of Sting's door.

Tapping on the front door, she was a little nervous but mostly excited and exhilarated. The adrenaline from finally leaving Serg was pumping through her body, and she knew that Sting would be happy for her.

"Hey Dix," he greeted with a slightly confused smile once he pulled the door open. "Everything ok?"

"I left him," she told him, a grin threatening to split her face in two. "I left him."

"Woo hoo!" he yelled in a totally uncharacteristic way, lifting her straight off her feet in a bear hug and spinning her around. Dixie's hands automatically went to his shoulders for unneeded support, every part of her trusting that he wouldn't drop her, and she laughed, her head falling back and her unbound hair flying around the two of them.

"Come in, come in!" he insisted once he'd put her down, stepping aside and waving her inside.

"Thanks Steve," she said gratefully, shouldering the duffle bag by her feet and giggling when he took it from her, slinging it over the shoulder furthest from her and slinging his free arm around her shoulders.

"You're staying," he said calmly, leaving no room for arguments. "You're welcome for as long as you need to, no rush." Dixie grinned and nudged his side with her shoulder.

"That's sweet of you," she said, laughing when he flexed his fingers in mock warning, a wide grin on his face.

"You know you're one of my best friends Dix," he teased. "And now that you've gotten rid of that scum bag there's no reason for you not to stay." She laughed at his words, but despite that she could hear the sincerity in his voice, in his words. And she could tell by all of that, plus his actions that he truly cared. And that feeling, the one that made her feel like she was wanted, was one of the most amazing feelings that she'd had in a long time.


	4. Birthday

**Written ages ago, and promptly forgotten about.**

**On another note, I've got a few shots revolving around a Dixie/AJ Styles friendship, based on this 'Claire Lynch' storyline. Would there be any interest in reading them?**

* * *

Steve stretched as he woke up slowly. Leaving his eyes closed, he reached out for his girlfriend. No matter how early she woke up, Dixie hardly ever left the bed before he woke up. He sat up violently, opening his eyes when he heard the soft giggles of the brunette woman he loved. Dixie was standing in the bedroom doorway with a tray in her hands, her lips turned up in a sweet smile.

"Miss me?" she teased as she made her way towards the bed. Steve took the tray out of her hands and set it on the nightstand, capturing her wrist and tugging her down on top of him. Dixie let out a startled laugh as she hit before she straddled his hips, supporting her weight by placing her hands on his chest.

"What's all this for Princess?" he asked as he rested a hand on her cheek lightly, grinning as she nuzzled into it lightly.

"Your birthday silly," she giggled softly. Steve rolled his eyes.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I don't want a fuss made over my birthday," he sighed.

"Probably as many as I have to tell you," Dixie quipped right back. "But yet every year I have to spend my morning scraping pancake batter off the kitchen wall and scrubbing the frying pan to get the charred remains of what you always claim is bacon off. And every year, without fail I still get to pick out a new frying pan as a present." Steve sighed in exasperation, rolling his eyes fondly at the discussion they had every year on his birthday.

"Yes dear," he agreed, knowing that she was just teasing him, however true her words might be. Dixie nodded and rolled to his side as he sat up, Steve placing the tray over his lap and pulling her close. Despite the traditional argument this really was the best part of his birthday, just sitting in bed with the love of his life curled up to his side, eating her wonderful food. Later she would give him the small, totally thoughtful gift she always did before they would head off to the house show for that night. After they performed, the guys-and girls-in the back would throw a small, respectful party for him like they did every year.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Dixie asked softly, her head resting lightly on Steve's shoulder and her palm splayed across his stomach.

"Just how much I love you," Steve murmured, turning his head around to drop a sweet kiss on the top of her head. Dixie let out a soft 'aw' before she leant up to kiss him gently. Steve leant down to meet her, because really his girlfriend was just a little too short for them to kiss comfortably in a position like this.

"Love you too," she told him as she settled back into his side. He offered her food from his plate and she laughed softly, taking it off his fork. Steve smiled as he alternated between eating himself and feeding her. This was the best part of his life, the quiet moments filled with love and laughter. Luckily for him, he got a lot of them.


End file.
